


'Til You Gave Out All Your Skin

by mockturtletale



Category: Suits (TV)
Genre: Kink Meme, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-08-14
Updated: 2011-08-14
Packaged: 2017-10-25 02:23:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/270689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mockturtletale/pseuds/mockturtletale
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stupid kid and his stupid friends and his stupid face. Harvey wants to push his fingers up into the short hair at the base of Mike’s skull, to erase the touch of his friend and everyone else who has ever enjoyed and undoubtedly under-appreciated the privilege of having their hands on Mike until all he remembers and all he wants is the ghost of Harvey’s touch, all over him and ever present.</p>
            </blockquote>





	'Til You Gave Out All Your Skin

**Author's Note:**

> Written for this prompt in the Suits Kink Meme: "Harvey/Mike, Jealousy and/or Possessiveness." Thank you to the OP for the fantastic prompt! ♥  
> [Title borrowed from a magnificent Empires song]

 

 

 

Mike seems to have an ever growing base of increasingly irritating and overly affectionate ‘friends’ and Harvey is unsurprised to find that vying for Mike’s attention is not something that sits well with him. Not well at all.

Of course, Harvey is merely concerned about the kid’s commitment to the job, that’s all. And ‘concerned’ is probably pushing it. If an active social life gets in the way of Mike’s work ethic, it’ll reflect badly on both of them and Harvey only hates Mike’s friends for that reason. Well, that and their wandering hands. It’s uncivilized to be that physically comfortable with one’s friends, is all. Harvey has some strict ideas on acceptable social practice and it seems like everyone in Mike’s life enjoys flirting with that line. And Mike. The sheer unsightliness of it all irks Harvey, it gets under his skin and sets his teeth on edge. Despite their ages, these people are not _children_ so Harvey thinks it would serve them well to stop acting like five year olds and instigating puppy piles with his associate at every possible pass.

It’s simply a matter of decorum, that’s all.

 

 

 

  
___________________________________________________________

 

 

 

  
They’re already late because Mike is still insisting on cycling that hazardous contraption of his to and from work and Harvey is beginning to wonder where Ray comes down on the loyalty versus morality debate because he’s confident they could make running the wretched thing over look like a complete and total accident.

Of course, ‘late’ for Harvey means:

  
“Dude, slow down, we’re twenty minutes early!” and god this kid has so much to learn.

  
“Twenty minutes early is ten minutes late, subordinate. How many times do we have to go over this? Do you require a laminate? The next item on that list will be ‘Wear matching socks at all times - no exceptions’, just a heads up. And I told you not to call me that”.

  
Mike is trailing behind Harvey, trying to hurry after him and tug his pant legs out of his socks and secure his ridiculous messenger bag across his chest all at the same time, panting with the effort of trying to speak too.

  
“How did you - you didn’t even look!”

  
Harvey smirks and it crests over into a full blown grin when they get to the doors of the courthouse and he catches Mike’s amazed and incredulous reflection in the glass.

“Yeah yeah, I’m brilliant, I’m amazing, you are not worthy etc. etc., keep it moving, Harvard”.

“You do realize how ridiculous it is to call me that when I’m the only person at the firm who _didn’t_ attend that school, right? I’m just checking”.

Harvey mock pouts.

  
“Oh no. I hadn’t realized that at all. In fact - this is just another one of those occasions when you’ve realized something I missed. Wait. Those are all figments of your imagination.”

  
They engage in this light hearted verbal sparring all the way upstairs in the elevator, and Harvey is actually impressed when Mike gets him to laugh first, but it’s only because a particularly cutting remark had made the elderly woman sharing their journey audibly gasp in shock, so it doesn’t count, no matter what Mike says.

He’s still smiling and Mike’s expression is akin to that which Harvey thinks he might affect if someone told him he’d won the lottery and a Harvard law degree _and_ a brand new tricycle, but it all quickly comes crashing down. Physically.

Mike is almost knocked to the ground, tackled from the left by what on further investigation appears to be an absurdly good looking frat boy, and Harvey’s just about to call for security when Mike wraps the dude up in a hug and looks this close to licking his face. Sometimes ‘dude’ is the only appropriate term to describe an individual, Harvey is shocked and dismayed to discover in the face of this individual who would undoubtedly look more at home atop a surf board than in his poorly fitting, ill designed suit.

  
“Mikey!! What the hell are you doing here? And what are you wearing!?”

  
They’re still embracing, and Harvey would appreciate it if that could stop like five minutes ago, thanks.

  
“Alec! You look amazing! How have you been? I’m uh .. a lawyer now? This is -”

  
And Mike disengages to introduce Harvey, remembering his manners for once.

  
“This is my boss, Harvey Specter. Harvey, this is Alec, we were roommates. Why are you here, bro? Another DUI??”

  
He nods and laughs, the sound warm and deep until it suddenly turns tinny and sharp in Harvey’s veins, grating slices off his nerves. He tunes their no doubt inane conversation out and takes stock of the situation.

This ‘Alec’ character still has his arm slung around Mike’s shoulders, his hand gripping Mike’s bicep tight and familiar and the handle of Harvey’s briefcase groans under a sudden pressure. ‘Roommates’? What does that entail exactly and does it really warrant the way this Alec guy is smiling down at Mike tucked in against his side because the guy is like tall, maybe even a little taller than Harvey, and he has stupid juvenile swoopy bangs across his forehead and it’s so very unprofessional how does this kid ever expect to find a respectable job with his stupid haircut and his stupid smile and his stupid, stupid crinkly eyes, gazing down at Mike like he hung the moon. He’s blonde and tan and svelte but compactly muscled and he and Mike look like a couple standing pressed together like that, Harvey half expected a “This is my partner, Alec, we take orphans surfing on the weekends when we’re not busy chasing puppies around our organic vegetable garden and collapsing onto the grass next to one another in an exhausted, content heap, oh and this is what it looks like when we make out”.

Harvey is shaken from his internal tirade by the two of them staring at him, matching inquisitive expressions like they just walked out of a catalogue campaign. It’s disgusting, this guy is not right for Mike at all and Harvey needs to get Mike out of the reach of his lecherous claws as soon as possible if not before then.

“Mike we have to be going, we’re only ten minutes early - uh I mean twenty minutes late!” and Harvey is tripping over his words now, tugging on Mike’s sleeve like a child who wants attention and jesus christ how did this become his life.

Mike doesn’t seem to notice anything beyond Harvey’s usual air of disapproval and disdain, he just wraps that bastard Alec into another hug that is way too long for public appearances, infuriatingly insists upon making vague plans to ‘hang out’ sometime soon and then they’re marching onwards into battle once more, Harvey and Mike reunited and without distraction - the dream team back in action. Harvey looks back over his shoulder when they’re a safe distance away and sees Alec still standing in the middle of the hallway, looking after Mike with a fond smile on his stupid, ugly face and if Harvey is a little more vicious than strictly necessary when questioning the witness this afternoon, no-one really notices because he’s Harvey Specter and he can do as he very well pleases, thank you very much.

What would really please him right now would be to take Mike to the bathroom and supervise him washing the scum of that sleazeball’s embrace from his hands, but he settles instead for accidentally bumping shoulders with Mike twice as they return to the office and that scratches the itch, lessens the burn that roared through Harvey’s chest at the sight of them entangled. Entwined! Like the garish cover art of some harlequin romance novel. Oh the horror of it all. Harvey can’t wait to get Mike safely ensconced back in his cubicle, away from his ‘friends’ and constantly at Harvey’s disposal.

Although now that he thinks of it, it really is a trek down to the bull pen. Maybe he’ll look into having Mike allocated a new work space. One much, much closer.

For convenience, of course.

 

 

  
_______________________________________________

 

 

 

 

The next few weeks pass without incident. Harvey does walk in on Mike and Rachel looking more than a little friendly in the copy room one evening, but the very next night Rachel introduces both he and Mike to her boyfriend at a company function, so all things considered (because we don’t really have to count how Harvey almost wore a hole in his wildly expensive shoes the next day - between pacing his office muttering angrily to himself about unprofessionally friendly paralegals and hurrying between his office and Mike’s cubicle anytime the slightest opportunity arose) no harm no foul. Harvey really likes Rachel. He especially likes how she’d introduced them to her partner as “Harvey Specter and his …. Mike”, because it’s about time someone got it right around here.

Harvey is in a very generous and acquiescent mood the next morning, so when he arrives at the office to find Mike dozing at his desk, having already been here for several hours, he decides to reprise his role as benevolent leader and take him out for coffee. He rouses Mike with a gentle hand on his shoulder that doesn’t relent it’s hold until they’re out on the street, waiting at the crosswalk.

Mike doesn’t say much along the way, just rubs at his eyes and yawns occasionally until they get their drinks with excessive amounts of espresso and a truly startling quantity of sugar in Mike’s case, and after that he starts to look alive.

They’re halfway through their second cups and Mike is getting intimately acquainted with a cranberry muffin when someone calls his name across the coffee shop and Harvey is interrupted midway through a sentence about the importance of never letting the opposing side feel they’ve done enough to earn your wrath, “because a righteous reaction is a reaction nonetheless and rarely if ever should you let anyone possess the power to provoke a reaction, lest they incorrectly assume they’re worth such reward”.

“MIKE! MIKE-EY!”

The booming voice belongs to a great big hulking creature who is crossing the coffee shop in approximately two strides and gathering Mike up out of his seat for a bone crushing hug that makes Harvey wince - whether in sympathy or abject fury he can’t quite decide.

  
“Paul! Man! What’s up?”

  
‘Paul’ looks to be about six foot three, with chiseled cheekbones and a jawline sharp enough to cut glass, big soft brown eyes and thick dark hair that is artfully styled in tousled tufts swept back from his forehead as though pulled that way by an insatiable lover. He’s talking a mile a minute, all wide eyed boyish enthusiasm and he’s making sweeping gestures, filling the space all around Mike and then stepping into it - Harvey can’t tell where the blessedly sharp cut of Mike’s suit becomes the crisp charcoal shirt his associate’s friend is wearing like a second skin.

Harvey is rapidly losing his patience with these abercrombie cut-outs and the way they help themselves to his associate like just because he might have been theirs first that somehow gives them the right to stand their ground even when faced with a clearly far worthier adversary. It’s not right and it’s not proper and it’s a shame that Harvey has to be the one to right the situation but we all have our crosses to bear.

“Michael, we really must be getting back...”

  
“‘Michael’!? Haha, who is this guy, Mike? Your dad?”

  
And a beautiful young woman appears from behind this ‘Paul’, peeking around his broad shoulders and laughing warmly like she’s just heard the funniest joke.

Harvey is getting really sick of this, has he mentioned?

Mike laughs too and these _children_ , give him strength. If he rolls his eyes any harder he’s going to injure himself.

  
“This is my boss, Harvey, who I told you about? Harvey, this is Olivia and Paul, Paul is Trevor’s older (‘better’ Paul interjects) brother, and his gorgeous girlfriend Olivia”.

  
And well, that’s a different story then, isn’t it? Harvey smiles, instantly as charming and suave as ever, megawatt smiles for all and they’re exchanging handshakes and ‘pleased to meet you’s. Mike has told his friends about Harvey. Asking what exactly was said would be beneath Harvey, but he’s confident the words ‘proficient’, ‘masterful’ and ‘superbly dressed’ were thrown in there somewhere. What can he say, the kid is astute.

But really, they do have things to attend to back at the office, and when Harvey makes his apologies and stands to leave he’s expecting Mike to follow suit. So it’s safe to say that when Mike instead tosses a distracted ‘Yeah, I’ll follow you back, be right there’ over his shoulder and sits back down, at which point Olivia slides gracefully into Mike’s lap, her arm around his waist …... Harvey feels a little less forgiving and a whole lot more homicidal. Paul sinks into the seat next to the pair of them and scoots over, the sound of the chair scraping across the floor ringing up Harvey’s spine like a tuning fork. Paul leans in to ruffle Mike’s hair and the urge to shout ‘GET YOUR HANDS OFF HIM IMMEDIATELY’ is so overwhelming that he has to bite his tongue to prevent it.

He stomps back to the office and makes it there in half the time - fueled by the sheer force of his fury. Mike openly disobeyed him, in public no less, and did so in favor of basically having an orgy on the coffee shop floor. The display was quite frankly disgusting and Harvey can still taste the bitter iron tang of blood and disappointment. If Mike has time to have this many irritatingly attractive and affectionate friends, Harvey is obviously not working him hard enough. The kid’s life should revolve solely around this job and thus - Harvey. If anyone is going to ruffle his soft, inviting hair or sling an arm around his lithe but really very well defined shoulders, it should be Harvey and Harvey alone.

Mike returns moments later as promised and is all smiles, blissfully unaware of his many and heinous crimes against all that is good and right and decent in the world (by Harvey’s standards - obviously the only ones that are matter). Harvey wants to want to wipe that pleased little grin off his face, but is surprised and confused to find that the sight dispels his righteous indignation almost entirely, warms the icy reception he’d been preparing to pool warm affection in the pit of his stomach.

Stupid kid and his stupid friends and his stupid face. Harvey doesn’t have time for this nonsense, goddamn it. He’s a very serious and very successful litigator and he should absolutely not have to fight to focus on his very important caseload instead of the way Mike, sitting on his couch reading, rubs at the back of his neck. Harvey wants to push his fingers up into the short hair at the base of Mike’s skull, to erase the touch of his friend and everyone else who has ever enjoyed and undoubtedly under-appreciated the privilege of having their hands on Mike until all he remembers and all he wants is the ghost of Harvey’s touch, all over him and ever present.

For educational purposes, you understand. Harvey just wants to show Mike the right ways to behave in public, for the sake of his (currently non-existent) sense of acceptable social etiquette. And if he needs to give Mike some examples of inappropriate social conduct? Ways in which it’s definitely not okay (for anyone other than Harvey - in his role of Social Sensei) to behave with Mike? Well he’s an impressionable young man and it seems _someone_ has to take him in hand. Literally. For the sake of his experience in these areas, is all. Harvey’s a kind and understanding man, generous with those in need of his time and considerable expertise in a very wide range of matters. Mentoring Mike may one day require attention to subjects beyond those covered by the law, and should that kind of situation arise Harvey will, as with all things, be more than adequately prepared. That’s simply his way and it hasn’t failed him yet.

And so, he starts spending a little more time each day thinking about all the ways in which he could help Mike learn to recognize inappropriately placed hands and physical contact that definitely should not take place anywhere other than behind the firmly locked doors of offices, or condos or at a pinch deserted law firm bathrooms, for example.

Just so he’s prepared, you see. Harvey has nothing but the full and thorough education of his protege on his mind. And to think that just the week before Jessica had accused him of being selfish with his time. Ha! Look at him now, so selfless and considerate with his new toy. This situation and Harvey’s vehement instinctual reaction to it obviously and clearly shows just how passionate he can be about pro-boner work when it comes to Mike. Uhhh .. pro- _bono_. Slip of the tongue. He’s been working very long hours this month. Harvey wanders off to find more coffee, and he often takes the long way around, so what if it just happens to lead him right by Mike’s cubicle? It’s pure coincidence and he’ll thank Donna to keep her knowing smirks to herself.

Everybody around here seems to be slowly losing their mind lately. Being the only constantly rational and competent person in this office gets ever so tiresome at times.

 

 

 

_________________________________________________________

 

 

 

  
Things take an instantly snowed under turn at work and Harvey and Mike spend a couple of weeks in very close quarters indeed, but unfortunately Mike seems to have picked up a thing or two about workplace protocol, because he doesn’t even ask Harvey to participate in a single ridiculous fist bump or try to engage him in any of those ludicrous high-fives he’s so fond of. Harvey tries not to think about whether or not Mike is being as standoffish in his spare time with his apparent harem because doing so has a strange tendency to result in broken coffee cups and on one particularly odd and memorable occasion - (having just overheard a phone conversation in which Mike was speaking to that Alec character to arrange their ‘hang out sesh’ and seriously? That doesn’t sound like poor code for ‘raucous sex’ to _anyone_ else? Donna spends too much of her free time thinking of ways to unsettle Harvey and not enough of it keeping up with the preferred lingo of teenagers these days, which Harvey finds most unuseful, for the record) he’d thrown a stapler through the doorway of his office only to have it (miraculously) hit Louis square in the bald patch as he walked by. Not that anyone knew that Harvey might have been responsible for such an incident. People were predictably quick to believe that things like this simply happened to Louis with no apparent or necessary explanation whatsoever.

But eventually they win the case and Harvey is very much looking forward to celebrating their reigning victory as Pearson Hardman’s legal (and in all else) dream duo, so he suggests that he and Mike take the client out for drinks.

They have a very pleasant evening, particularly when the client leaves.

Harvey is in such high spirits he is actually being unnecessarily indulgent with Mike - praising his work on the case, thanking him for all the time he’s sacrificed to help Harvey, he even goes so far as to compliment his suit - calling it ‘adequate’.

Mike is naturally flattered and a little flustered by the attention, and they’ve both been sticking to tonic water tonight so Harvey has to attest the slight flush of Mike’s face, the restless clenching and unclenching of Mike’s hands against the tablecloth, and the way he’s leaning considerably closer into Harvey’s space than when they’d first sat down to something besides alcohol. He notices Mike’s gaze dropping to his mouth when he speaks and Harvey is shocked and dismayed to find that he is instantly insanely turned on, fully committed to the prospect of taking his associate home (which goes against everything he’s committed to as a responsible and stringent lawyer) and in short - ready to give it up to this kid like a teenager on prom night.

He can’t believe he’s doing this, but he’s just about to suggest that they head back to his place for a night cap when ….

  
“Well, well, well, Mike Ross!”

  
For the love of -

Mike lights up at the sight of someone over Harvey’s shoulder, and he barely resists the urge to bang his head off the table. But no, he must think of his fantastic complexion.

  
“Ian!? Buddy!!”

  
Harvey sighs and slumps back into his seat, patience worn out to the point of his being reckless about posture. This situation has become truly desolate. He doesn’t try to feign interest in their conversation, barely looks up when this new guy joins them without invitation to do so. Proper manners and good sense are dead and gone and Harvey is the last beacon of refinery in a hopelessly rude and insolent generation of walking, talking, poorly attired toddlers.

Ian is ridiculously good looking. Honestly offensively so. He has unruly dark hair, deep blue eyes, alabaster skin framed in long inky eyelashes and his suit might actually almost be as well cut and expensive as Harvey’s. This is an outrage!

Five minutes of warm, overly-familiar conversation in which Harvey isn’t even introduced to this usurper of Mike’s attention (how rude) and he learns the following: Although they don’t explicitly say so (Ian is irritatingly coy, guarded but charming like he knows very well that his proximity to Mike and the touches he’s doling out liberally are perfectly unsuitable, but simply doesn’t care) Mike obviously passed some kind of test for this guy and it’s a small victory for Harvey that this individual was not even competent enough to sit a simple exam. Ian does bring himself to admit that he found Mike so “impressive” that he “decided to keep him around” and is Harvey imagining it, or is this guy actually challenging Harvey’s supremacy here? And then Ian wraps an arm around Mike’s shoulders and _winks_ at Harvey.

How. very. dare. he.

Harvey Specter will not stand for this!

He will stand to leave though, and so he does. He reaches across the table to put his hand over Mike’s and asks if he’s ready to leave, clearly asking a whole lot more besides.

And then the unthinkable happens.

Mike says no.

Harvey absolutely does not gasp in shock, doesn’t shudder in his lovely suit in abject horror, of course he doesn’t.

He very calmly, very very suavely exits, throwing a lofty “As you wish. You boys clearly have some catching up to do” over his shoulder as he turns on his heel and slinks regally out of the bar. He is so collected and together, so completely and utterly smooth. Sometimes he doesn’t even know himself how he manages it, and he focuses every fibre of his being on turning his exuberant class and nobility up to eleven as he leaves.

And if some might say that they saw a very well dressed, clearly frustrated, but still startlingly handsome man kicking trash cans on the sidewalk outside and muttering angrily to himself about “succubus menboys” and “the treacherous wiles of lovely young associates”, well. Harvey was already on his way home by then, absolutely unbothered by tonight’s events and far too busy being composed and resplendent, he has no idea what they’re talking about.

 

 

  
____________________________________________________

 

 

 

  
Harvey is what he can only describe as ‘considerably unsettled’ after the shocking events of last night. Not that anyone can tell, of course, because he wears a perfectly polished mask of poise and grace at all times.

Something about Mike has seemingly been relentlessly trying to crack that surface, though, because Harvey wakes up the next morning instantly and painfully aware of a level of consideration for his underling that he can in hindsight see has been forming for quite some time now. It’s disconcerting, to say the least, and that’s before he’s had his coffee and remembered that Mike seems unable to befriend any but the most persistent touch-whores.

The thing is - etiquette concerns aside (and that’s a very difficult place for Harvey to put them, bear in mind) - he can admit that his reaction to other persons (the _wrong_ persons) touching Mike is … well. Completely warranted. Absolutely provoked. But also, perhaps, just a smidgen excessive in it’s force and extent.

He grudgingly admits (but only to himself at this point because lord knows the world is not ready for any kind of even quasi-emotional admission from Harvey Specter) that his highly volatile response to the situation seems to likely be grounded in a kind of … jealousy, maybe, if that’s what you insist on calling it.

His interests in Mike’s personal space stray beyond a strictly preventative, educational capacity. He can see that now. And it’s a startling discovery. He is not accustomed to having romantic concerns that stray beyond his tried and rarely tested - always successful methods: see - want - get - discard. No planning, no thought before or after the fact. He hasn’t even acquired Mike’s attention yet, yet alone the rest of him, and if you’re taking strictly detailed stock of the situation - last night might actually have been evidence attesting to the prospect (ridiculous as it may be, if you ask Harvey) that Mike is … uninterested in him.

But no, we shan’t dwell, for that way lies madness.

Harvey goes for a run, tries to literally sweat this all-consuming and maddening, seemingly unrequited attraction out of his system, and then strolls into the office two hours late (in other words right on time) and ready to completely ignore this whole mess. He succeeds in avoiding both Mike and the issue all day, and is just about to leave at 7 that evening, congratulating himself on a job well done as he goes.

But as usual, and much to Harvey’s chagrin, Mike Ross has other ideas.

  
“Harvey! Hey! I haven't seen you all day!”

  
Harvey can _hear_ the exclamation marks. Oh, how he suffers. The things this young man has forced him to find endearing. And when did that happen? Why is he still here? 

  
“So what did you think of my friend Ian? He’s a pretty cool guy, huh? He’s in town for a couple days and we’d lost contact lost year so it’s totally awesome that we ran into one another like that, isn’t it?”

  
Harvey just looks at him, doesn’t speak for fear he won’t be able to hold his tongue and that’s an interesting … no! no! that is not an interesting avenue of thought at all!

  
“And uh … you’ve met quite a few of my friends lately, I guess. That’s cool. I talk about work and uh, you, a lot, so it’s .. I’m stoked that everyone that matters to me finally gets to meet one another, really. It’s good, don’t you think?”

  
“Oh I’m sure. You’ll excuse me for not jumping for joy, I hope”

Mike looks …. hurt. His hopeful little smile collapses in on itself at Harvey’s answer and what is the matter with him!? Surely Mike can’t expect Harvey to feign delight at meeting all of these people who “matter” to him?

“You know, for someone so in control and all powerful, you can be incredibly oblivious”

  
And Mike is whirling around, having spat his remark at Harvey’s feet and seriously, what is the matter with him? _Harvey_ is the one who should be angry here, and he has been - furious at how Mike parades all of these people through their time together so Harvey can sit there like a fool and watch these shameless imbeciles paw at places _he_ wants to be the only one to ever touch again. And he can deal with Mike turning him down and opting for his too-friendly ‘friends’ for benefits instead, not that he will EVER understand it, but he will need at least a few days to repress it all, to pack his new sprung feelings back down and cover them back up with silk and wool, he can’t pretend to be happy about it right now, not today, not yet.

  
And he won’t let Mike walk away from this suggesting that Harvey is the oblivious one, he won’t let this get in the way of their working relationship because he is Harvey fucking Specter and the least is capable of is absolute professionalism. He strides to the door before Mike reaches it and pushes it shut, leaning back against it to face Mike.

  
“Oh no you do not, kid. Because I get it, alright? Of course I do. Nothing escapes me, how often do we have to go over this? I get it and it’s fine. Just .. stop bringing your friends to molest you in front of me, because it’s not proper and it’s not kind Ross, you’re supposed to be the considerate one and if it turns out that we’re both heartless bastards then Jessica is going to be so very disappointed.”

  
“‘Heartless?’ …. ‘molest’ me? … ‘it’s fine’? What’s fine? What are you talking about? I think Jessica is going to be a little more concerned about the fact that you’ve obviously lost your mind!”

  
Mike looks genuinely perplexed now, which Harvey finds to be a vast improvement from hurt and angry. He had been trying to push past Harvey to open the door, but he’s stopped in his tracks now, reaching behind Harvey with his hand stilled on the door handle and he’s so close, and he’s looking up at Harvey like he’s trying to figure him out and Harvey knows it’s not what Mike wants, knows it’s not right, but he can’t help it, he wants to kiss him so badly. He presses his palms back flat against to door to keep them from winding into Mike’s clothes to pull him closer and working with him every single day is going to be the best kind of painful, brilliant torture but he’ll do it and he’ll keep his desires in check because he _has_ to, he can’t go back to working without Mike underfoot every hour of the day because god, life had been so boring before him.

  
“Mike, I’m not stupid, I know the legal ramifications of sexual harassment and beyond that knowledge you have to know that I wouldn’t .. I could never …. you are of course free to see whoever you want and my behavior was … unacceptable, I know, it just .. it was difficult for me to see but I know where we stand now and everything will be fine, I assure you.”

  
And then Mike’s eyes are widening in what appears to be dawning realization and he’s _laughing_ at Harvey, and this is all in such poor taste. Today has been a very difficult, horribly humiliating day and Harvey is literally weak knee-d with exhausted embarrassment and such stubborn, endless lust. But it’s just the proximity, it is. The fact that Mike is openly entertained by Harvey’s attraction to him and said problem still persists does not suggest that Harvey is … oh god, he’s going to hell.

  
“Just .. for the sake of getting everything out in the open here -” and Mike gets his laughter under control but is still grinning, hands in his pockets, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet with ill-disguised nervous energy.

  
“Which of my friends do you think I’m banging?”

  
And great, fine, let’s humiliate Harvey as much as possible here. But on some level, maybe this is a good thing. If Harvey was wrong about Mike’s relationships with his friends and they can clear the air about Harvey’s unrequited crush, and do so jovially, companionably, then everything can get back to normal sooner rather than later. That doesn’t make this conversation any easier, though, and he sighs. It sounds like surrender.

  
“Ian, I suppose, if you must know. But any of them, really, all of them maybe.”

  
“And sidestepping the fact that you must think I’m very, very creative with my time, and the underlying assumption that I’m super easy.... this bothered you?”

As bad as Mike paints the image, it seemed like the logical conclusion to Harvey. Mike looks like that, and speaks like that and insists upon cycling a bike in New York City and he’s smarter and sharper than anyone his age has any right to be and he is so infuriating and brilliant and … said friends dress like fratboys, but Mike chooses to spend his time with them so they’re probably of at least above average intelligence and they’re clearly basically functioning human beings who are frequently in Mike’s very close company so it stands to reason that they’d be interested in him and …

  
“There is no need to jump to conclusions, Mike, you’re better than flawed logic. Yes, it bothered me. It was indecent and you know you’re a reflection of me, a representative of this firm and -”

  
“So you were only bothered by my behavior with my friends because it took place in public?”

  
“Yes.”

  
“And because it wasn't 'proper'?”

  
“Yes.”

  
“Because it went against your personal professional code of conduct?”

  
“Yes.”

  
“Because you were jealous?”

  
“ _Yes_. Wait!”

  
But it’s too late. Mike has drawn Harvey into one of the most basic, classic interrogation traps and damn his ability to overlook his precious morals when it comes to turning one of Harvey’s own methods against him.

  
“Oh my god, we are both idiots.”

  
And Mike is laughing again, bright and delighted and Harvey has had just about enough of this when Mike steps forward, completely erasing the space between them, and catches Harvey’s mouth with his own and presses his entire body in to the line of Harvey’s.

It’s so sudden and so unexpected that it takes a second for Harvey to register what’s happening but when he does he realizes he has Mike squirming warm against him, leaning in to kiss him and Harvey is just standing there not doing anything. Mike starts to pull away, and no no, that’s not what Harvey wants, that is the exact opposite of what Harvey wants. He hauls Mike back in, and this time he opens his mouth under Mike’s, clutches him close with his hands fisted in the back of Mike’s jacket and kisses him like he’s never going to get to again, because he doesn’t know that he will, five seconds ago didn’t think he ever would.

Kissing Mike is like molten relief. It soothes the jealous burn but floods fire through his veins, and getting what he wants only makes him want more.

Mike has him held back against the door, is trying to push further, get impossibly closer, and he’s sighing into Harvey’s mouth and winding his arms up around Harvey’s neck and he obviously has no idea how little self control Harvey has right now, because he starts _speaking_ against Harvey’s lips.

  
“You’re so stupid” he says and it’s the best thing Harvey’s heard, until -

  
“God I wanted this, wanted you, _want_ you so much” and Harvey can’t take this, has to get Mike out of these clothes and onto a horizontal surface like yesterday, and he’s thinking about the logistics that his desk, the couch, the floor would involve but then his hands finally, finally manage to push Mike’s jacket out of the way and untuck his shirt and his fingers find the soft, warm, perfect skin underneath and Harvey hands clench helplessly around the bracket of Mike’s ribs when Mike _sucks on his tongue_ and Harvey has to get him home, has to see him spread out across his bed for no-one but him.

  
“Can we .. do you want to come back to my place?” he pants, biting back a groan when Mike lets him speak by moving to drag his mouth along the line of his jaw.

“Yeah, yes. Please” and _jesus_. Harvey has never been so overcome by anything in his life, and the fact that it’s the need to get his associate into bed is … unexpected. Has he mentioned? But also unlikely, because why then did Mike say no to the same suggestion only last night?

“So why did you say no to the same suggestion only last night?” and why is he talking, why is his stupid, stupid mouth moving to do anything other than lick into Mike’s lovely, perfect mouth!?

“I … I did what?” and Mike is pulling away again, but he’s staying close this time, fingers sneaking into Harvey’s front pockets and his chest is still warm against Harvey’s and his lips are brushing against Harvey’s throat as he speaks and it is so difficult to keep it together but he has to make sure.

“I asked you to come back to my place last night after drinks. I almost punched your friend in the face when he put his arm around your shoulders, he had his hand on your thigh and I thought I was going to hulk out and I _asked_ you to leave with me.”

“One - I can’t believe you just said ‘hulk out’, Two - you asked me if I wanted to leave, and I didn’t, because you didn’t specify that you meant _with you_ and Three - speaking of? What are we still doing here?”

And then they’re grabbing their things, making out in the elevator like a couple of horny teenagers, climbing into a cab and only mostly succeeding in keeping their hands off one another.

When they get back to Harvey’s condo there is a terrifying moment when he shuts the door and locks it behind them and they’re just standing staring at one another and neither makes a move and should Harvey offer Mike something to drink? What if he’s changed his mind? What if what happened back at the office was just Mike doing what he thought Harvey wanted because he didn’t want to lose his job and what if …

  
“When you’re done over-thinking this, I’ll be in the bedroom” Mike says, walking away. And Harvey is struck dumb again, just for a second, by the sight of Mike shrugging off his jacket and dropping it on the floor as he goes, throwing a helpful “Oh and I’ll be naked, just … so you have all the facts” over his shoulder.

  
And Harvey may be a little slow on the uptake tonight, but he’s proud of how it takes him approximately four seconds to catch up with Mike in the dark hallway leading to his bedroom, and how successful he is in getting Mike up against the wall and pinned in place by his hips, which he twists slowly into Mike’s. This is going to be so much fun. Mike has been half a step ahead of Harvey so far tonight, but that, Harvey vows, is all about to change.

He waits for Mike to strain forward, searching for his mouth in the dark, and he watches the way the tendons in his neck pull taut, feels with his own body how tense Mike is against him. He slides a hand down Mike’s back to cup his ass and haul his hips in tighter against Harvey’s but still doesn’t kiss him, just enjoys how Mike shudders and lets his legs fall apart a little wider to let Harvey press in closer. Just close enough to be a tease.

And then he’s pulling him away with a hand tight around Mike’s wrist, and pushing open the door of his bedroom and Mike is a solid wave of heat against his back, arms around Harvey’s waist and his cheek at the back of his neck, nose nuzzling up into his hair.

Harvey gets them across the room and to the foot of the bed, doesn’t turn to face Mike as he unbuttons his shirt and slides both it and his jacket off although he feels Mike’s hands tug the sleeves down off his arms and then the same hands return to unbuckle his belt, and he feels Mike’s mouth brush against the blade of his shoulder as he slowly, too slowly pulls it through Harvey’s belt loops and lets it fall to the floor. And Harvey has to hold his breath when Mike unfastens his pants, drags the zipper down and pushes them off his hips to pool at his feet. He toes off his shoes and socks and turns around just in time to see Mike finish doing the same, and out of his cheap and ill fitting suits this man is literally mouthwatering. He’s not as skinny as Harvey had thought, toned and lightly muscled across his shoulders, above his abs, along his thighs. Every inch of his body is begging for Harvey’s hands, his mouth, his teeth and tongue because now is not the time to be thinking about other people touching that skin but Harvey can’t help it and it drives him crazy.

He leans in to kiss Mike, sucks his bottom lip into his mouth and nips and then he tugs Mike’s boxers off his hips, rids himself of his own and pushes Mike back onto his bed. And he has to take a second to enjoy that sight - Mike naked and gorgeous across his sheets, spread out just for Harvey.

  
“You’re kind of big into the proprietorship thing even out of the office, aren’t you?” and Mike should not be that calm about this, certainly wouldn’t be if he knew what Harvey was thinking.

  
“You have _no_ idea” Harvey murmurs, and then he’s crawling up the bed, biting softly at the bone in Mike’s ankle, pressing a kiss to the inside of his knee, hands pushing up Mike’s thighs and

  
“Get these apart for me, lovely” he says, and Mike’s eyes slip shut and he swallows, does as he’s told, and he’s so lovely when he follows orders.

  
He’s so lovely when Harvey gets three lube slick fingers in his ass and Mike keens, plants his feet and lifts his hips off the bed up into it, one hand gripping bruises into Harvey’s bicep.

He’s beyond lovely when Harvey leans down to lick across the head of his cock, straining up against his stomach, when Harvey jacks his fist to slick Mike’s shaft and Mike begs for him to stop, pleads for Harvey to fuck him _now_.

Harvey wants him to remember every single second, every bruising, careful, whisper soft, fervent touch Harvey lays across his skin. He pulls his fingers free even as Mike clenches down around them and falls onto his hands and knees over Mike, who finally stills and looks up at Harvey.

  
“I mean this, you know. And once we do this … you don’t touch anyone else. You don’t let anyone else touch you. Friendship is one thing, and something I’ll deal with, but -”

  
“Harvey, Harvey. I’m not .. I have not fucked any of my friends. I definitely don’t plan to.”

  
And that’s enough, for now, when Harvey is close enough to lick the sheen of sweat that’s gathering across Mike’s collarbones, can already see beautiful little fingerprint bruises blooming across the skin at Mike’s hip.

Mike lifts his legs to wrap around Harvey’s waist and Harvey’s hands follow the line of his thighs while he drops his mouth to Mike’s, kisses him deep and wet and dirty until he’s gasping again and his hands are getting rough and insistent in Harvey’s hair and clutching at his back, fingernails digging in.

And when Harvey pulls away to roll on a condom he gets to return his gaze to the sight of him, lying in Harvey’s bed, chest heaving with the effort of his labored breathing, his hips shifting uselessly and his legs still locked tight around Harvey’s waist and it’s not a sight that Harvey’s going to forget a detail of anytime soon.

He knows he could drag this out, maybe even make Mike beg for it, but he stores that prospect for another day, and holds Mike’s hips up with one hand while he guides his cock with the other. He has prepped Mike well but sliding into him still makes his heart stutter in his chest, watching his cock disappear into Mike’s ass, feeling the tight clench of muscle around him literally taking his breath away.

  
“Are you .. _fuck_ , are you okay?”

“I’m not a virgin, Harvey, I’m .. oh god, move, please”

And Harvey can do that.

He drops both hands to Mike’s hips now, lifting them up off the bed to meet his thrusts, and every time he bottoms out, pauses to stay deep for just a second, Mike whimpers, actually whimpers. Harvey has to close his eyes, can’t see this and hear this and not come far too soon.

But then Mike’s hips jerk and he looks down to see him fisting his own cock, long slim fingers wrapped around his shaft, thumb teasing the head and Harvey has to knock his hand away, has to lean down and bend Mike further than can be comfortable because he has to reach his mouth, has to wrap his own hand around Mike’s dick and let his hips rest in the cradle of Harvey’s spread thighs so Mike can strain up off the bed to get at Harvey’s mouth, and then they’re kissing, tongues curling around one another's, teeth careless now and catching in Harvey’s lip.

They’re breathing hard, and Harvey can hear the fabric clenched in Mike’s fists groan under the strain, mixed in with the sound of their bodies coming together in slick, dull thuds.

  
“Wanted this” Mike says, writhing against the sheets with his eyes closed and his head tipped back so Harvey can see the long line of his throat, the tremble in the set of his mouth and then

  
“Thank you - god, thank you, _please_ ” and Harvey’s hand tightens around Mike’s cock and he pushes in and stays deep as he wrings Mike’s orgasm out of him, and he leans down and rests his forehead against Mike’s throat as he pushes one last time into Mike’s tight, perfect ass and turns his face into the hand Mike lifts and bites down on the heel of his palm as he comes.

Mike’s thighs stay wound up around Harvey’s waist and he runs his hands up and down them until they loosen under the touch enough to drop down onto the bed. He pulls out as carefully as he can and his legs are shaking as he takes the two steps to the bathroom and comes back with a wash cloth.

He very gently wipes way the come that’s cooling on Mike’s stomach and washes up in the en suite, and when he comes back, Mike has opened his eyes.

  
“Should I ….. go now?” he asks and it’s so quiet, so guarded.

  
“No. You should get under the covers and go to sleep. We have a long day tomorrow.” and something loosens in his chest when Mike smiles.

  
They turn out the lights, pull the covers back and climb into bed and Mike settles alongside him, shoulders, hips and thighs touching. And when Harvey reaches for Mike’s hand, laces their fingers together and holds them like that at his chest, Mike wriggles lower and tips his head in against Harvey’s shoulder, brushes a kiss there before he starts to fall asleep.

  
“Harvey?” he murmurs.

  
“Mhmm?”

  
“Tomorrow’s Saturday. We have the day off” and Harvey smiles in the dark.

  
“I know. And we have a lot of ground to cover” Harvey smooths a hand up the length of Mike's side and he feels Mike smile against his shoulder.

  
They fall asleep like that.

  
And when he wakes up the next morning, it is to the solid weight of Mike wrapped around him and half on top of him, comfortable and warm.

And when they’re at work on Monday, Mike turns to ask him a question and the angle shifts his jacket and gives Harvey the wonderful view through his shirt of the hint of a bruise Harvey had that morning sucked below his collarbone.

 

 

From then on, whenever Mike runs into one of his friends, Harvey is nothing but polite.

 

 

 

 

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End file.
